Storytime with Jason McCourty: What's life like for NFL rookies after the draft? | FNIA | NFL on NBC

moving on I think the last part of this is the draft's over with and I think a lot of people like we said earlier draft grades this guy's going to do this this guy's gonna do that what the impact of rookies start as soon as they walk in the building I think it's good to get a behind the scenes look at these rookies walk into chaos honestly my rookie year was probably the hardest year in my career from the standpoint of you didn't know what to expect all your days were long because you always had extra meetings you started in morning extra meeting for for whether it's defense offense special teams you had that then you had all your regular meetings then you had a player program meeting whether it be on financial literacy whether it be on domestic violence like all the other things that the other guys have gone through you kind of get Blitz with so you're always doing something in New England the rookies worked out and lifted separate from the the rest of the group so you had to come in and you know some of the rookies once I was not a rookie anymore they used to come in earlier and lift at like 630 for me we had to stay later and LIF at 4:00 so it just like your days were all just so long you didn't know so I think that is something that these young rookies have to learn it's great draft day is great they're going to do some media they'll probably get some endorsements somebody's top guys you'll get to do that and then there's going to have a standpoint where you walk in that building and it's going to be time to work there's going to be men are in their 30s married children they're going to be looking at you like hey we brought you in here to have an impact we we need you to get to that point sooner rather than later and these guys have to be ready to go be in shape do all of those things going in because you're G to have a lot coming at you as soon as you step foot you're not a freshman anymore I remember Bill bich told us that he said rookies you're not a freshman anymore there's no four-year scholarship I don't care where we drafted you if you don't work and you don't work out for us and we don't think you're improving and getting better we will fire you that is what this business is about this league is you do it or you get fired so I think these young rookies they have to learn that and they have to attack it just like they've attacked everything to get them to this point yeah and you haven't even mention the fact that there most of them are in a brand new city you're trying to find an apartment you're doing all of those things off the field dealing with family your local newspaper is going to post your whole contract somebody back home is going to think you got millions of dollars in your bank account instantly and it does not work like that all you got is that signing bonus depending upon where you got drafted that signing bonus ain't helping you do anything right away so it's the work that has to go in Beyond it and what I love not only about draft days you see the calls and the GMS and head coaches like man we're so excited we we've already envisioned how you're going to help us right away and for me being drafted 203 in the 2009 draft at the end of the sixth round a coach telling me how I'm helping the team right now man that was just BS that was just excitement for draft day because now I got to go out and make the team so something I started with earlier in the show where I said run your own race that's important for those guys because each guy depend dep upon where you're drafted rounds 1 through seven but then there's undrafted guys as well and everybody there's a plate right there and there's only a few pieces of chicken left on that plate and everybody is going after like a crazy dog trying to get their piece of the meal so just know for those guys when you show up you're going against heavy competition you're trying to show what you can do and it's going to be a new world for your new playbook not only a new playbook you walk into a building and instantly you don't know anybody you don't remember what coach saids something said good morning to you you don't know what position he is is when you walk in the training room you don't know which trainer knows how to tape a good ankle and which trainer is just starting out and they're terrible you don't know what to eat in the cafeteria you don't know you're going you get lost you don't know exactly so there's so many different nuances that you have to start to figure out but I look at it as a rookie just embrace it all man how fantastic is it that you're now in the NFL and you're living out a dream just take it all in there's going to be some vets that are going to bust your chops let it go and enjoy the process of it but for those guys man they've been brought into whatever facility it is for a reason because they have some form of talent go out there and showcase it give me what's the top JM rookie story I know one that you told me but um well who I I I I'll te up Jason mccordi Final Cut day your rookie year take us take us back to that 2009 I was with the Tennessee Titans Jeff fiser was our head coach at the time uh I get there we drafted Kenny Britt in the first round my college teammate when he got there they asked him about me our DB coach Marcus Robertson and he said man he used to give me fits and practice and can he helped me get drafted I never spoke to the Titans throughout the entire process no visit no phone conversations nothing so I get there I go throughout training camp and I'm doing well in training camping I listen to the words of Mike Tomlin throughout our rookie andos he's like rookies when you get to your buildings shut up don't say a word nobody wants to hear anything you have to say and on your best day it wasn't that good on your worst day it wasn't that bad that model carried me through training camp end up playing good in the preseason games doing well on special teams so it came to that last day of cuts and you know how it was like it would be 90 guys and it would go to like 80 and then 75 and then you'd finally get to that Final Cut and for me draft at the end of the sixth round when you get there you start to do the numbers you like all right like we got Courtland finnean starting at that corner Nick Harper's going to be there but Vinnie Fuller plays safety but he's the nickel corner so that knocks another notch so I'm like 1 2 3 four five six so if I look at it he was drafted I'm about eighth when you look at all the quarterbacks eighth on the dep chart so they may going they gonna have to cut him him so you starting to do the numbers so it's the final day of cuts and we used to have a guy my guy Steve W saying our strength coach he'd walk around and you have guys in the locker they're playing mad and you're going I'm talking trash and you get that tap on your shoulder hey coach coach Fisher needs to see you bring your play button and everybody just looks so we had this Players Lounge which wasn't really a Players Lounge it was just like a few couches in a dark room I'm hanging out with Kenny Brit we got all the lights out Kenny he's just trying to be a good friend he says he's hiding out he's a first round draft Pi hell he ain't going nowhere they stake the franchise on him he's fine he's hiding out with me hoping that they can't find me on Cut day I hide out the entire day they don't come I don't get no tap on the shoulders the Grim Reaper don't find me I'm like I'm good so then when we finish all our Cuts we go into the bubble and we go on the stretch lines and I tell rookie the story because it was the realest moment for me in the NFL because all throughout training camp you know you're in these stretch lines and we were by position groups and there's just lines of Guys across the field and after that last cut you look around and there's so many people that are now gone that some will be brought back on practice squad some guys NFL career just lasted two months and they'll never step foot on a football field again and an NFL uniform and it's that fast that happens and the crazy thing is this happens on the weekend and then on Monday team signed guys who got cut by other teams and then they released guys who thought they originally made the roster so it's a crazy business man and you you learn how to deal with it but that cut down day I remember calling my mom on the way from the facility after I got in the car and I just screamed at the top of my lungs of excitement and calling my mom like I made it I made the team and it was just such a great feeling who knew that it would last 13 years yeah I see I don't have any story like that cuz different than you I was good in college I was a firstr draft pick M just exposed you all training camp but other than that it was all good I was low on the totem pole he did that to a lot of people so at least mine was only practice but for me it was a funny thing of being a first round pick and the year before you're in Tennessee and you're like yeah Kenny gets his own room they do this for Kenny like being a first round pick is awesome I go to New England and we were in our old this is before they redid the meeting rooms we were in our meeting room and Bill calls me up in front of the whole meeting and he was like Hey Devin's our first round draft pick I was like oh shoot it's pretty cool and he was like hey what we do here in New England when you're the first round draft pick you get the honor of every day you see that little key over there you turn that key if this door is closed our meeting room got split they had a wall retractable wall that would go down and would cut the me in half so we go offense and defense and this wall was so slow it folded in and then as you press it it went Bo Bo and every single day Scotty our special teams coach would have a meeting for like 20 minutes before the squad meeting and he would close it so have to kickoff team here have to kickoff team there have kickoff return and then I would come in at 7:58 and I would have to open and I'd be up there and then bill will walk to the podium as it's finishing and he would just stare at me as if like I was doing something wrong because it was supposed to be open earlier and then I would have I have to run up to my seat and then I will have to go close it and the key was on the offensive side so Billy O'Brien starting a coach but then I have to walk in front of him to go back through the door to go to the defensive side it was just like but it was also remind of like we don't really care you're the first round pick you're just like everybody else but that that key sucked I couldn't wait till the next year I was like Nate Solder that's your key you turn the key now but that was the reward in New England for being a first round pick not much to take home and then you guys w a Super Bowl you got a better building that no longer needed a key to close a room and you had enough rooms to conduct uh meetings for both sides of the ball so that's awesome you help bring them back to stability from that standpoint thanks man you're you're similar to the other Jason that was on meia Jason Garrett give me way more credit than I need I appreciate that I need more people like you guys in my life because my wife Jason Jason Garrett was believable M uh was just sarcasm I actually have no love and respect you you just joined a team that had Tom Brady and Bill bich that's why that's why Jason Garrett's my favorite Jason and with that being said we want to kind of thank Jason McCord for coming on today we appreciate you jumping on the FN podcast having a good time see you guys next week having a good time and getting ready for this football season let's go hi I'm Mike too and thanks for watching make sure to hit subscribe for the latest news and highlights from NBC Sports